BOSTON (WWLP) – The special Senate committee created to tackle the state’s drug problem met with public health officials, judiciary and drug treatment providers to present details of the state’s severe drug problem. The special Senate committee zeroed in on the state law that allows courts to commit drug and alcohol abusers to treatment for up to 90 days – also known as Section 35.

Leominster State Senator Jennifer Flanagan said, “the issue of addiction and how we treat addiction in Massachusetts has been in the forefront. I think now, given the high rates of overdoses, it’s really becoming deadly, and so we need to do something in Massachusetts before we lose anymore lives.”

Daniel Mumbauer from High Point Treatment Center, a Section 35 provider, says that it takes more than detox to treat addiction.

“Detox by itself is not enough. Folks with an addiction disorder really need both detox and rehab to be successful,” said Daniel Mumbauer of High Point Treatment Center.

Mumbauer suggests that along with detox, drug and alcohol abusers need longer, customized rehab programs before returning to the community. This was the first out of a series of hopefully eight meetings and the special Senate committee plans to hold hearings across the state.